Simulation software aids ultra-lightweight, high-performance road bikes

During the development of a new carbon-fibre bicycle, the design team at Sweden-based Rolo Bikes, wanted to develop a frame that exhibited strength and stiffness attributes while keeping weight to an absolute minimum. The team required an efficient process to design the frame and test it in a virtual world against the industry’s safety and performance standards. The Rolo Bikes team had some exposure to Altair’s HyperWorks suite of simulation tools during the early development of the new frame. However, the team did not have the in-house computer aided engineering (CAE) expertise required to accurately analyse and optimise the frame.